A Cross-Sectional Study of Nutrient Intake and Health Status among Older Adults in Yogyakarta Indonesia

Abstract

Many communities around the world, particularly developing countries including Indonesia, are experiencing population ageing. There is little knowledge regarding the impact of malnutrition, or its prevalence within rural compared to urban areas, on the nutritional, functional and mental status of community-living older residents in these countries. Hence, a cross-sectional study was conducted to determine socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, nutritional, mental and functional status, and energy and nutrient intake of community-dwelling Indonesians from both rural and urban areas of Yogyakarta. Older individuals were included in the study if they had been living in Yogyakarta for the last year and were aged ≥65 years (n = 527; mean ± SD age of 74 ± 7 years). Rural compared with urban participants had a lower level of education and income, more hospital admissions, less dietary protein intake, lower cognitive function, poorer nutritional status and grip strength, but faster gait speed while being more dependent on assistance to perform daily activities (all p < 0.05). Cognitive function was more strongly associated than nutritional status with physical function. Rural older Indonesians living in Yogyakarta were more likely than urban older people to be malnourished and cognitively impaired, and to have associated reductions in functional capacity and independence. Strategies to improve cognitive function and nutritional status are therefore important for the wellbeing of Indonesian citizens.

Obesity Is Less Frequently Associated with Cognitive Impairment in Elderly Individuals: A Cross-Sectional Study in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

“…A substantial proportion of the participants (108 out of 143 or 75.5%) were classified as having cognitive impairment. The finding is in accordance with previous study conducted at urban and rural population in Yogyakarta, Indonesia by Arjuna et al (2017) [17]. They found that 59% (in urban) and 80% (in rural) of their elderly subjects were cognitively impaired.…”

“…In the present study, we recruited the participants residing in Sleman Regency, a region that represents the characteristics of both urban and rural population in Yogyakarta. Hence, the finding that 75.5% of our participants were cognitively impaired corroborate previous findings [17]. The higher case of cognitive impairment in older individuals aged ≥65 years in our study might due to most of them (51 out of 108) had low SES (low educational background, low income, and low level of occupation).…”

“…A study from the 2007 Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS)-4 reported that obesity had a positive association with better cognitive function in adults aged 50 years and above [16]. Moreover, another study conducted in Yogyakarta, Indonesia reported that individuals aged above 65 years with increased level of cognitive impairment were likely to be underweight or malnourished [17]. Although this study did not explore the association between obesity and cognitive function, it evidenced the association between BMI and cognitive impairment.…”

Eating Habits in Older Adults: Compliance with the Recommended Daily Intakes and Its Relationship with Sociodemographic Characteristics, Clinical Conditions, and Lifestyles

“…For the first time, to our knowledge, this study has analyzed the relationship between compliance with the recommended dietary intakes and clinical conditions, and sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics in a sample of older people residing in the Spanish Mediterranean. Compliance with generally recommended dietary intakes is low, in some cases by deficiency, such as vitamin D, where none of the participating subjects meet the requirements, and iodine, where the compliance rate does not exceed 20%, or by excess, such as with monounsaturated fatty acids, fiber, iron, the B vitamins, vitamin E, and vitamin C. These results partially coincide with those found in international studies, where a clear deficit in the recommended daily intake of vitamin D [27][28][29] and an excess in vitamin C intake [14,28] are observed. On the other hand, the excess of fiber, iron, vitamin E, the B vitamins, and monounsaturated fatty acids do coincide with the results found in the literature, where deficits in fiber and iron and in the levels of vitamin E and the B vitamins are observed [29].…”

Differences in the Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Frailty in Five Japanese Residential Areas

“…In contrast, a Chinese study showed that the frailty prevalence was significantly lower in a rural area than in an urban area of Beijing [10]. Another study, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, found no difference in frailty status between urban and rural areas [11].…”